Wireless location assisted zone guidance system incorporating shepherding of wayward dogs

• US 10,292,365 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2015
• Issued: 05/21/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GPSip, Inc.
• Original Assignee: GPSip, Inc.
• Inventors: Landers, Rodney P., Nieuwsma, Kevin L., James, Chad R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Parsley, David J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Clerkley, Danielle A
• Application Number:
  US14/660,912
• Time in Patent Office: 1,526 Days
• Field of Search: 119719-721
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 15/021 Electronic training devices specially adapted for dogs or cats
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 15/023 Anti-evasion devices
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 27/009 with electric-shock, sound, magnetic- or radio-waves emitting devices
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 29/005 Monitoring or measuring activity, e.g. detecting heat or mating
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information

Abstract

An assisted guidance region has a plurality of zones, each with an associated set of characteristics used to provide behavioral guidance to an animal. Behavioral guidance is extended to a wayward dog who has moved outside of the assisted guidance region by providing stimuli to shepherd the dog back into a safe zone. Positive stimuli are provided when the dog is moving in a direction back towards the safe zone, by providing a safe zone or similar stimulus. Movement away from the safe zone will trigger the unit to deliver a non-aversive second alert zone stimulus. Movement that isn'"'"'t getting closer or further away triggers a first alert zone stimulus. Calculation of relative movement direction with regard to the safe zone is based upon a comparison to an approximate center of the safe zone.

Claims

1. A wireless location assisted zone guidance system adapted to assist in the training and management of an animal and providing an extended area of behavioral guidance, comprising:

a housing;

an electrical power source contained within said housing;

at least one animal stimulation apparatus electrically coupled with said housing and powered by said electrical power source;

a wireless location determination apparatus contained within said housing, powered by said electrical power source, and configured to generate a current latitude and current longitude representative of a current position of said housing;

an electrical processor coupled to said wireless location determination apparatus and configured to receive said current latitude and current longitude representative of said current position therefrom;

memory electrically accessible by said electrical processor;

a data table that is stored in said electrically accessible memory;

a plurality of guidance zone values stored in said data table, with each guidance zone value stored in said data table identifying a one of a safe zone associated with a first behavioral guidance stimulation, an alert zone circumscribing said safe zone associated with a second behavioral guidance stimulation different from said first behavioral guidance stimulation, and an out-of-bounds zone circumscribing said alert zone associated with a third behavioral guidance stimulation different from said first and second behavioral guidance stimulations;

said electrical processor configured to operatively compare said received current position to said data table to generate a first represented current position within said data table and to generate a second represented current position that is subsequent to said first represented current position and further adapted to vary an output of said at least one animal stimulation apparatus responsive to said second represented current position relative to said first represented current position, and further configured to determine when said housing is outside of said safe zone and said alert zone, and to control an output of said at least one animal stimulation apparatus to provide positive stimulus when said housing is determined to be outside of said at least two assisted guidance zones and said second represented current position relative to said first represented current position is indicative of movement in a direction toward a calculated approximate center of said safe zone.

2. The wireless location assisted zone guidance system adapted to assist in the training and management of an animal and providing an extended area of behavioral guidance of claim 1, wherein said electrical processor is configured to operatively deliver a stimulus different from said positive feedback stimulus when said housing is outside of said at least two assisted guidance zones and said second represented current position relative to said first represented current position is indicative of movement in a direction away from said safe zone.

3. The wireless location assisted zone guidance system adapted to assist in the training and management of an animal and providing an extended area of behavioral guidance of claim 1, wherein said electrical processor is configured to operatively deliver a stimulus different from said positive feedback stimulus when said housing is outside of said at least two assisted guidance zones and said second represented current position relative to said first represented current position is indicative of movement at a constant distance from said safe zone.

4. The wireless location assisted zone guidance system adapted to assist in the training and management of an animal and providing an extended area of behavioral guidance of claim 1, wherein said electrical processor is configured to control an output of said at least one animal stimulation apparatus to provide positive stimulus when said housing is determined to be outside of said at least two assisted guidance zones and said processor receives input indicative of an intent to move in a direction toward said safe zone.

5. A wireless location assisted zone guidance system adapted to assist in the training and management of an animal, comprising:

a wireless location determination apparatus configured to operatively generate latitude information and longitude information representative of a geographic position of said wireless location determination apparatus;

at least one animal stimulation apparatus;

a processor coupled to said wireless location determination apparatus and configured to receive said latitude information and longitude information therefrom and coupled to said at least one animal stimulation apparatus and configured to operatively control a generation of stimulation;

memory coupled with and accessible by said processor;

a data table stored in said memory as a two-dimensional array having a first array index operatively representing an ordinate and having a second array index operatively representing an abscissa, a first one of said axis of ordinates and axis of abscissae corresponding to longitude and a second one of said axis of ordinates and axis of abscissae corresponding to said latitude; and

a plurality of geographically defined guidance zones operatively stored in said data table, with each guidance zone value stored in said data table identifying a one a safe zone associated with a first behavioral guidance stimulation, an alert zone circumscribing said safe zone associated with a second behavioral guidance stimulation different from said first behavioral guidance stimulation, and an out-of-bounds zone circumscribing said alert zone associated with a third behavioral guidance stimulation different from said first and second behavioral guidance stimulations;

said processor configured to operatively receive said latitude information and said longitude information from said wireless location determination apparatus, retrieve a value stored in a location in said data table using said longitude information as said first array index and said latitude information as said second array index, and use said retrieved value to determine a one of said plurality of guidance zones that said latitude and longitude information from said wireless location determination apparatus is associated with, and provide behavioral guidance stimulation to said animal through said animal stimulation apparatus responsive thereto, and to produce positive feedback within said at least one animal stimulation apparatus when said current geographic location is determined to be within said out-of-bounds zone and a direction of at least one of a movement detected by traversal from one resolved GPS position to an adjacent resolved GPS position closer to said alert zone and a movement intent toward said safe zone.

6. The wireless location assisted zone guidance system of claim 5, wherein said detection of said movement intent further comprises a compass indicating that said wireless location determination apparatus has turned.

7. The wireless location assisted zone guidance system of claim 5, wherein said detection of movement intent further comprises an inertial sensor indicating an acceleration of said wireless location determination apparatus toward said safe zone.

8. The wireless location assisted zone guidance system of claim 5, wherein said detection of movement further comprises detection that said second represented current position relative to said first represented current position is indicative of movement in a direction toward a calculated approximate center of said safe zone.